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The rail fiasco’s real culprits must not escape

Ministers hide behind civil servants, who cannot be called to account. This must change

Margaret Hodge

October 9 2012, 1:01am, The Times

The fiasco over the West Coast Main Line franchise must not become just the latest in a string of scandals revealing government waste and ineptitude. It should be an opportunity to open up Whitehall to outside scrutiny, so more errors that could cost up to £300 million will not be made.

Patrick McLoughlin’s honest admission that the decision was wrong implies that, as the new Transport Secretary, he can simply break with the past. But we’ve had eight transport secretaries since May 2006 working on vital, long-term projects; and each time they change jobs accountability for failures and mishaps stops.

It is no better with the Civil Service. The Department for Transport has had six permanent secretaries since 2001 and their accountability also stops when…